In sociology, a clear classification of all objects and phenomena found in society is accepted. Typology - these are several types of social structure, which are combined by similar phenomena or selection criteria. In this article we will talk about the typology of theories of development of society, as well as their diversity, features and distinguishing features.
Social Development by K. Marx
The essence of the Marxist theory of the development of society is as follows: the basis of the existence and vital activity of society is production forces and material production, as well as the changes taking place in them.
With the improvement of production technologies, social relations will certainly undergo changes. The commonality of relations in the production environment and the material basis of society are the basis of the form of consciousness, as well as a legal and political superstructure. In the Marxist theory of the development of society, such institutions as law, religion and politics are determined by the economic basis, in other words, the economic condition of society is the basis of its intellectual and spiritual level.
Relationships in Marxist Theory
Various theories of the development of society and the social laws of sociology express a close relationship between the productive forces and relations, as well as between the state ideology and the political basis and superstructure.
There is a direct relationship between the level of development of production and the form of organization of society. This explains the changes taking place in public relations: according to Marx’s theory, if relations between production participants become a brake on its harmonious development, then revolution cannot be avoided. If the economic basis changes, that is, the basis, then a sharp revolution takes place in the whole huge superstructure of society.
Capital. Production and handling processes
Karl Marx’s system of economic works called Capital represents four volumes with his economic theory. It is analyzed mainly not the concept of wealth as such, but the concept of goods and commodity-money relations. All the contradictions of the state system, according to Marx, are derived precisely from a misunderstanding of the mechanisms of production.
The first volume, entitled “The Production Process of Capital,” examines categories such as cost, surplus value, which is the basis of profit, labor costs and wages. This part of Capital describes the process of accumulation of monetary resources and their impact on the life of the working class.
The second volume of Marx's theory is devoted to the process of circulation of capital, its movement, circulation and circulation. The cycle of capital means its continuous movement and the gradual passage of three stages, at each of which a change in its functional form takes place. The three stages of the capital cycle include the transfer of capital from money to production, production capital - to commodity, and from commodity - again to cash.
The process of capitalist production and the theory of surplus value
The Marx reproduction scheme considers the interaction between the production of production assets and the production of goods for general consumption.
The third volume of Capital, entitled “The Process of Capitalist Production, Taken as a Whole”, studies the system of distribution of surplus value between various participants in economic relations. The mechanism of the transition of the value of goods into production value is considered in detail. According to Marx, if you sell goods not at cost but at production prices, then the operation of the law of value, which is also discussed in detail in this volume, will be preserved.
The fourth volume studies the theory of surplus value and contains a critical assessment of economic systems by the way they distribute capital and surplus value.
Literal and written societies
But let's look at other classifications of theories of social development. If we consider that the main sign of the classification of the social structure is the presence of writing or its absence, then we can divide societies into pre-written ones, that is, those who cannot write, but who can speak, and written. The latter not only know how to speak, but also own the alphabet and fix letters and sounds on material carriers, for example, on birch bark letters and cuneiform tables, as well as books, newspapers and digital carriers. And although the beginning of the formation of writing began about ten centuries ago, some tribes of Africa, the jungle of the Amazon and the Sahara desert still do not have a clue about how to translate speech into a written equivalent. Peoples who have not yet mastered the art of writing are commonly called pre-civilized.
Simple and complex society
According to another theory of the evolution of society, in society there are two classes - a simple and complex society. The more levels of government and layers of society, the more developed the public association. If society is simple, then there are no rich and poor, leaders and subordinates. A prime example is the primitive and pre-civilized tribes. A complex society is distinguished by ramification in the management system, the division of the population into social layers. The layers are distributed by income, power, prestige, that is, the more a person has access to public goods, the higher his status in society. Social inequality arises spontaneously and is consolidated economically, legally, politically and religiously. The primary source of the emergence of complex public associations is the appearance of the state, the first signs of which in primitive tribes originated six thousand years ago. The primary sources of simple social associations arose about forty thousand years ago; they appeared much earlier than the first states. It can be concluded that the age of the appearance of the first signs of simple societies is 4-5 times greater than the age of the appearance of complex social associations.
Theory of Danielle Bell
Modern sociological science does not place at the forefront any one social theory. All of them are combined into a single theory of social cycles. Its author is an outstanding Western sociologist Daniel Bell.
In his opinion, the entire aggregate of social development is divided into three cycles: pre-industrial, industrial and post-industrial.
One stage inevitably replaces another; changes in the technological process, production methods, and forms of ownership are also inevitable. New social institutions appear, political regimes change, culture, lifestyle changes, there is an increase or decrease in the population, and the social state of society is also changing. Let's get to know this theory in more detail.
Preindustrial society development cycle
The pre-industrial development cycle includes simple societies. As mentioned above, they are characterized by the absence of social inequality, the state apparatus, developed commodity-money relations. This social state of society was most often observed in primitive communal tribes. So lived hunters, farmers, cattle breeders, gatherers. Oddly enough, such a social structure has survived to this day: in the jungle and deserts there are such primitive tribes.
Simple societies have the following features:
- egalitarianism, that is, the absence of social separation as such;
- simple society occupies a small territory;
- family ties come to the fore;
- primitive tools and an undeveloped system of labor interaction.
Industrial development cycle of society
Industrialization is the process of introducing scientific knowledge into the industrial process, the emergence of fundamentally new sources of energy, thanks to which machines perform the work that animals or people used to do.
The transition to industrial activity can be safely called a kind of revolution in the social structure. A similar phenomenon was once the transition to agriculture and cattle breeding.
What affects the development of industrial society? Industry has made it possible to meet the needs of the entire population of the earth by a small group of people engaged in production. The number of farmers in US agriculture is only 5%, Germany - 10%, Japan - 15%. The society in which the industrial revolution took place significantly exceeds the pre-industrial one in terms of population - from a few hundred thousand to a million people live in such a state. These are public associations with a high level of urbanization.
Post-industrial society
Post-industrial social structure is an example of social progress in the modern world. In the middle of the last century, a new concept was required, reflecting the unprecedented growth of scientific achievements and the related changes in public life. Daniel Bell called a new society in which the main priority was given to science and technology, post-industrial. In social science literature, such terms as the second industrial revolution, super-industrial society, industrial revolution, cybernetics society are also found.
About fifty years ago, the countdown of a new era in the modern world community began. Its distinguishing features are the use of electronic information systems, the use of nanotechnology and microprocessors in the industrial and commercial fields, as well as in the field of exchange. The agronomic and oil business, genetic engineering, and constantly evolving computer technologies have raised information and technology to a whole new level.